Strategy Gamers Just Got a LOT of Free Demos! (Steam Next Fest is Here)

Steam Next Fest 2026 is here! And many of its demos last longer than just one week. Welcome to my roundup of the best strategy and sim demos you can play for free right now, starting with Tropico 7! Stronghold 4's new Skirmish mode is on offer, plus STARHOME, an ancient Greek city builder, Napoleonic line battles, tower defense with a twist, a whole load of new 4X strategy games... and a few odd ones out. That's 38 games in total, and 37 of them have a free demo you can play right now (Dinolords multiplayer demo was promised for fest day but it wasn't out when I finished the video). Steam Next Fest runs until 26 October, so don't leave it too long. All games are linked below, in the order they appear in the video. If I've missed a great strategy demo, let me know in the comments! 0:00 - Steam Next Fest 2026 0:24 - Tropico 7 1:08 - Main Sequence 2:10 - STARHOME 2:56 - Stronghold 4 (Skirmish is in the Demo) 3:51 - Northgard Battlegrounds 4:36 - Theos: Cities of Myth 5:31 - Ant Colony: Wild Forest 6:50 - Victory Banner 7:35 - Veterans: Napoleonic Wars & Empires of Black Powder 8:36 - Turn-Based Tactics: Zodiac Legion, Nightbound, Ghost Justice 9:29 - Dawn of Defense 10:27 - Trailblazers: Into the March 11:04 - Probably Stolen 11:30 - Plague Lords 12:24 - Rise of the Merchants 13:15 - 4X in a Hurry: Monarchs at Play, Kairos, Imperial Kingdoms 14:24 - War of Banners 15:30 - Hull Rupture 16:21 - Age After Age 17:10 - County of Fortune 17:53 - The Last Admiral, Third Bloc, Dirt & Viscera 19:12 - Fool King 19:32 - "Business" Sims: Arcade Warlord, Merchant Miles 20:24 - Frontline Logistics: Isarian Warfare 21:12 - Castillon 21:34 - Dominus Gladiatus 22:04 - Dinolords (Medieval Dinosaur RTS) 23:12 - City Builder Hybrids: CitaDrill, Astro Architect, Kingdom Isles THE GAMES: Tropico 7: https://store.steampowered.com/app/18... Main Sequence: https://store.steampowered.com/app/24... STARHOME: https://store.steampowered.com/app/12... Stronghold 4: https://store.steampowered.com/app/21... Northgard Battlegrounds: https://store.steampowered.com/app/44... Theos: Cities of Myth: https://store.steampowered.com/app/30... Ant Colony: Wild Forest: https://store.steampowered.com/app/12... Victory Banner: https://store.steampowered.com/app/35... Veterans: Napoleonic Wars: https://store.steampowered.com/app/42... Empires of Black Powder: https://store.steampowered.com/app/51... Zodiac Legion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/81... Nightbound: https://store.steampowered.com/app/49... Ghost Justice: https://store.steampowered.com/app/41... Dawn of Defense: https://store.steampowered.com/app/27... Trailblazers: Into the March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/26... Probably Stolen: https://store.steampowered.com/app/43... Plague Lords: https://store.steampowered.com/app/26... Rise of the Merchants: https://store.steampowered.com/app/50... Monarchs at Play: https://store.steampowered.com/app/41... Kairos: https://store.steampowered.com/app/49... Imperial Kingdoms: https://store.steampowered.com/app/44... War of Banners: https://store.steampowered.com/app/38... Hull Rupture: https://store.steampowered.com/app/43... Age After Age: https://store.steampowered.com/app/43... County of Fortune: https://store.steampowered.com/app/32... The Last Admiral: https://store.steampowered.com/app/47... Third Bloc: https://store.steampowered.com/app/51... Dirt & Viscera: The Great War: https://store.steampowered.com/app/50... Fool King: https://store.steampowered.com/app/43... Arcade Warlord: https://store.steampowered.com/app/42... Merchant Miles: https://store.steampowered.com/app/36... Frontline Logistics: Isarian Warfare: https://store.steampowered.com/app/37... Castillon: https://store.steampowered.com/app/24... Dominus Gladiatus: https://store.steampowered.com/app/35... Dinolords (demo promised, not out yet): https://store.steampowered.com/app/25... CitaDrill: https://store.steampowered.com/app/34... Astro Architect: https://store.steampowered.com/app/32... Kingdom Isles: https://store.steampowered.com/app/47... Footage: official trailers, press kits, my gameplay captures, and Steam store material from each developer/publisher. Games shown in development (work in progress). SUPPORT: Buy Me A Coffee! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jumbopixel YouTube Membership -    / @jumbopixel   Legacy Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/JumboPixel?fa... SOCIALS: Twitter   / jumbopixel_   Twitch   / jumbopixel   _____ Business Contact: thejumbopixel(at)gmail(dot)com - subject line "SPONSORSHIP - " please. #steamnextfest #strategygames #citybuilder #strategy #gaming